KOD ARKITEKTER’S SUMMER HOUSE

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This Summer House completed by Swedish architecture firm Kod Arkitekter in the northern Stockholm archipelago makes the most of its surroundings with a design that maximizes indoor-outdoor living and combines Scandinavian cottage traditions with Japanese minimalism.

Built of timber to reference the surrounding forest, the Summer House comprises a renovated old cottage and a new addition. The clients asked Kod Arkitekter to save and update the cottage — a 65-square-meter structure — and seamlessly integrate it into the extension, a long volume that stretches perpendicular to the existing building.

The cottage is connected to the new house through a common roof and together they form a new whole. In addition to the Scandinavian traditions, the house draws inspiration from Japan, in an interpretation where simplicity, wood and the relationship with the surrounding nature are at the heart of the architecture.

The house has a combined living room and kitchen, and the family wanted this area to be spacious and with a lot of headroom. The plan has a cross-like structure with common areas in the center and the private rooms located at the ends. The shape gives the house one of its most important features: the possibility of both active social spaces as well as quiet, private zones. The living room, kitchen, and patio are designed to accommodate many; comfortable and practical rooms where family, relatives, and friends can cook dinner and socialize, surrounded by the beautiful archipelago nature.

The building is made of wood, an obvious choice of material for a location this close to nature. To overcome the level differences on the site, the protruding volume in the center of the structure is supported by steel posts, which gives the impression that the house hovers over the ground. The effect creates a beautiful relationship between the building and the landscape, with its features of heather and rocks. The roof that connects the two volumes makes it possible to use the patio even when it rains or when the dew settles. This way the house is adapted for Swedish summer – it works in all kinds of weather.

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